ECs resold in May 2023 made an average profit of S$470k; highest at S$995k

For the past few months, we have been covering monthly condo gains and losses. For instance, last month, we noticed that the condo units with at least a 200% gain in April 2023 were held for at least 15 years. We also noted that 32 condo units were sold at a loss in the same month.

Today, we’ll be focusing on the executive condominiums (ECs) that were resold in May 2023 (from URA data, captured as of 14 June 2023).

(Shout out to the data team at 99.co, who have helped us match the latest and previous transactions of the same units to calculate the capital gains and losses of the respective units. Other costs, such as stamp duty, legal fees and agent’s commissions, are not taken into account.)

Do also note that the data includes EC units that were initially sold by developers. Some of them have since been privatised when they’re resold last month.

In total, there were 215 profitable EC transactions in the resale market in May 2023. Among these transactions, the average profit is around S$470,000 (rounded off to 3 significant figures). Meanwhile, the holding period averaged around eight years. As of 14 June 2023, no capital losses by EC units were recorded last month.

The highest capital gain made by an EC in May 2023 was S$994,755 by a 1,551 sqft unit from Park Green. The unit was first bought in October 2002 for S$565,245. After a holding period of 21 years, it was sold in early May for S$1.56 million, translating to a 176% gain.

This also means that it’s sold after privatisation. 10 years after an EC reaches its TOP date, there’s no restriction on who they can be sold to.

Meanwhile, the lowest capital gain was S$44,000 by a 979 sqft unit from La Casa. First bought in May 2013 for S$858,000, the unit was sold 10 years later for S$902,000. It made a gain of 5.1%.

View our chart containing the Top 10 gains made by ECs in May 2023: https://go.99.co/ECgains0523Seedly

Among the 10 most profitable EC transactions last month, eight were sold after a holding period of at least 10 years. This is even as the average holding period of all the profitable transactions last month was around eight years.

When we looked closer at these 10 transactions, we noticed seven were sold after privatisation. As mentioned earlier, ECs are privatised 10 years after their TOP. This means that projects completed in 2013 or earlier are considered private property and can be sold to foreigners.

Similar to HDB flats, new ECs are subject to a five-year MOP. After that, when they’re resold on the resale market between the fifth and ninth year, they can only be sold to Singaporeans and PRs.

This means that after privatisation, EC owners have a bigger pool of buyers they can sell their units to.

Given the recent ABSD hike for foreigners (now 60%), those looking for a more affordable home may also want to consider ECs. As they’re all located in the outside central region (OCR), they tend to command lower prices.

Another thing that caught our eye is that six of the most profitable EC units are located in the north-east region of Singapore.

These include four from Sengkang, one from Punggol and one from Hougang. We should also note that the most profitable EC last month is located in Sengkang.

Meanwhile, the other three units are from Tampines — not too far from the north-east region.

Only one unit in the top 10 is located in the west, at Choa Chu Kang.

Interestingly, when we compare the price trends of ECs in these areas sold in the resale market in the last five years, Choa Chu Kang recorded the highest appreciation of 75.75%.

View the sale transaction trend charts of various ECs in different estates here: https://go.99.co/ECgains0523Seedly

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